Career
First-line supervisors of police and detectives
Lead police officers and detectives.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Supervise and coordinate the investigation of criminal cases, offering guidance and expertise to investigators, and ensuring that procedures are conducted in accordance with laws and regulations.
- Prepare work schedules and assign duties to subordinates.
- Direct collection, preparation, and handling of evidence and personal property of prisoners.
- Investigate and resolve personnel problems within organization and charges of misconduct against staff.
- Explain police operations to subordinates to assist them in performing their job duties.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on persuasion & leadership, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Supervise and coordinate the investigation of criminal cases, offering guidance and expertise to investigators, and ensuring that procedures are conducted in accordance with laws and regulations.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Management of Personnel Resources.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $106,040 a year and 10,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Criminal JusticeSee the degree →
- Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective ServicesCIP 03.0208
- Signal/Geospatial IntelligenceCIP 29.0203
- Criminal Justice and Corrections, GeneralCIP 43.0100
- CorrectionsCIP 43.0102
- Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement AdministrationCIP 43.0103
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers$76,210 · +3.5%
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators$93,790 · +0.2%
- First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers$77,970 · -2.5%
- First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers$55,940 · +3.7%
- Transit and Railroad Police$90,230 · +3.2%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.